We need stricter and smarter gun control

No, it won't stop other causes of violence

New gun laws are direly needed to make the country safer, asserts Shawn VanDiver in USA Today. The kind of weaponry that the Las Vegas killer managed to get his hands on legally is far too dangerous to be available to citizens so easily. A bump stock that turned his gun into an almost automatic weapon and 100-round magazines enabled him to kill so many. Additionally, universal background checks are a must. Ninety percent of Americans and 72% of NRA members agree with this. Such changes won’t make America safer overnight, but they would reduce the amount of guns available to dangerous people. The country strongly needs smart gun reform.

Sweeping gun control, as advocated by many politicians and gun control enthusiasts, is a reductive, and ultimately ineffective strategy to make America safer, argues Leah Libresco in the Washington Post. Most deaths arise during domestic abuse, suicide and gang wars. Simply introducing more restrictive gun legislation wouldn’t help any of these groups. Dangerous people needing to be profiled early on and depressed people requiring help and support are among countless ways to tackle these complex issues. We need to understand the people pulling the trigger before introducing sweeping changes that would be ineffective.